Setting a model for trans-boundary cooperation in the Beaufort Sea

The winter of 2013 marked an unusual sea ice year in the Beaufort Sea, with a series of storms passing over central Alaska. Strong westerly winds prompted several large pieces of ice to break away in an arc-shaped wave that moved east. By the end of February, large pieces of ice had fractured all the way to the western coast of Banks Island in northwestern Canada, a distance of about 1,000 kilometres.

Changes such as these hold important implications for marine mammals and left dangerous ice conditions for the communities in Alaska and Canada. To help monitor and meet the challenges of a changing environment, Oak Foundation grantee WWF Canada held a workshop in Barrow, Alaska with the North Slope Borough Wildlife Management Department and the Inuvialuit Game Council. It brought together the Inuvialuit and Inupiat peoples as well as other experts to continue ongoing collaboration and discuss management issues in a rapidly changing environment.

More than 40 delegates representing coastal communities across the Canadian and Alaska Beaufort Sea attended. As pressure to develop off-shore resources continues to build on both sides of the border, the Inuvialuit and Inupiat groups agreed to pursue ecosystem-based management and cooperate on oil- spill response planning.

North Pacific/Arctic Programme

The Challenge

The North Pacific and the Arctic are places renowned for their unique endemic biological diversity, productive fisheries and rich maritime-adapted cultures. Over the past decade, there has been growing concern in the global community about the rapid transformation occurring in these regions, particularly in the Arctic, due to impacts from climate change. Temperatures in the region are increasing at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the world resulting in a significant loss of sea ice, glaciers and permafrost, as well as weather and ecological changes that are affecting every aspect of life for the four million people who call the region home. Compounding these effects, many arctic communities are coping with pressures to develop their off shore resources and the rapid social and economic changes that continue to impact health and wellbeing of its residents. Setting a new standard for natural resource management, sustainable societies, and conservation in the Arctic during this time of rapid transformation is imperative.

Where we fund

We currently fund organisations in the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea. Please see examples of our grants in the Grant Database.

What we fund

By tapping into the wealth of knowledge, innovation and stewardship practices that have defined the long standing culture traditions in the region, we seek to invest in local and regional conservation efforts that promote healthy and resilient marine ecosystems for the benefit of future generations of Arctic residents. Our main goal is to use precautionary principles and ecosystem-based management tools: